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Couture techniques in skirt-making
I decided to make a skirt using as many couture techniques as I could: silk underlining, Hong Kong finishes, couture waistband you name it! This kind of sewing is slow but the result is a skirt that keeps its shape and doesn’t wrinkle or stick to your legs. The more I sew, the more I think that it is better to sew slowly and concentrate on good quality to make garments that last for years and years. This post contains affiliate links. Clicking them doesn’t cost you anything but I may get a few cents to help me in maintaining this blog. Good book resources for couture techniques Everyone always…
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Kuura vest video tutorial
Here is an easy video tutorial to sew the Kuura vest.
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A short wool Finnish folk jacket from the early 19th century
I have worn my national costume a lot but for the colder months, it needed some warmth. Askola’s costume doesn’t have a jacket from the same source where the rest of the pieces came from. However, there is one jacket that is from the nearby town of Porvoo. This jacket greatly resembles Spencer jackets that were fashionable during that era. It is much shorter than the vest/bodice worn underneath and shows that the commoners did pay some attention to the trends. The original jacket or “röijy” Here is the original jacket that is called “röijy” in Finnish. It is from Porvoo which is about 20 km south of Askola, However,…
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Getting to know Minna Canth by sewing
Meet Minna Canth, a famous Finnish author and see how I replicated her 1860s outfit.
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From Rags to Rugs – weaving a cozy rag rug for our hallway
I had a 5-metre-long front hall that was covered with a very sad-looking gray rug. I wanted to have something bright and colorful to bring some happiness into the hallway. Like many sewists, I had plenty of fabrics that I had stored for a while that I hadn’t found any use for. I decided to cut them into rag wefts and weave them into a rug. I love rag rugs that all my grandmothers wove. A few decades ago everyone knew somebody who wove rag rugs but nowadays it is more common to go and buy mass-produced rugs that are cheaper but well… more boring. The video Here is my…
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Merino knit dress – designing on the fly
I designed this merino knit dress on the fly, when I wanted a warm and comfy dress with some fun historical elements.
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I bought myself an 18th-century dress and then made some period accessories
I bought myself an 18th-century dress. Then I needed to make some matching accessories: a bum pad, a cap, and apron and a fichu.
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Handmade shoes at home? Finnishing my sneakers!
I bought a pair of sneaker soles already a year ago. I had all that fine folk wool fabric I had spent months weaving and I wanted to use the scraps to make something fun and different – so sneakers! How hard could it be to make a pair? I had seen people make sneakers in Great British Sewing Bee and it didn’t look difficult. About the materials and patterns I bought my sneaker soles from magic4kids on Etsy which specialises in making patterns for crocheted footwear. These soles have both the rubber outer sole and the soft inner sole, so you only need to add the fabric parts. I…
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An autumn blouse for my daughter
I sewed the Helmi blouse from the Tauko magazine (no 3). Made out of cotton sateen from Nuppu print company, it makes a nice autumn blouse.
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I sewed an Edwardian-inspired summer dress
I made an Edwardian-inspired summer dress out of linen using the Sedavi pattern by Pauline Alice. I also added some embroidery.
